Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network was on Arizona Sports 620's Doug and Wolf Show yesterday to discuss a variety of NFL topics. One of the things that came up was the city of Los Angeles, specifically, which NFL team could make their home there.
La Canfora noted that there are realistically only two teams that could find themselves playing eight games a year in the City of Angels- the San Diego Chargers and the St. Louis Rams. So if the Rams were indeed the team that was selected, how would this affect the Arizona Cardinals and their fans? Let's find out after the jump.
When speaking about the possibility of a team actually moving to L.A., La Canfora had this to say:
"This is going to happen, there's too much money at stake and there's too much interest. Especially if you are talking about a state of the art downtown stadium that's going to be hardcore in the Super Bowl rotation and would be able to host national championship games and college football and everything else."
It's shocking that there is not a team already there, honestly. With a city the size of L.A. and people that crave various forms of entertainment, putting an NFL team there is a no brainer. La Canfora noted that it won't be easy for the Rams to break their current lease at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, but that it's not impossible. It may be worth it if it means a ticket to L.A.
So what does this mean for the Cardinals? Well, the biggest thing is travel- both for the team and the fans. If the Rams end up in L.A., travel time would be cut down immensely, making it one less long trip back east that the Cardinals have to make per year. It also means that we might see more red jerseys filling up the new stadium.
I know that for me, if the Cardinals were to start playing some games in L.A. at least once a year, I might make the trip out there to watch them in enemy territory. The drive time from the Phoenix area is relatively short and travel expenses could be kept at a minimum when plane tickets and car rentals aren't involved. Filling up the opponent's stadium with birdgang fans would truly be a great thing to see.
One last thing to note is that if the Rams do move to L.A., not only will we see Cardinals fans invade their new stadium, but unfortunately, it would work both ways. Once the Rams get a big enough following, we may see something reminiscent of all the Dodgers and Lakers games that are played in Arizona. This is good for ticket sales, but not for the home field advantage.
What do you think, fans? Would it be a good thing if the Rams moved to L.A.? If you live in Arizona, would you drive to California to watch your beloved team play? Tell us in the comments below.